Purposeful Mentoring in Academic Libraries

Abstract

This article offers statistical information about the future of our profession and the role that mentoring may play in retaining and promoting academic librarians into leadership positions within an organization. An overview of the history and definition of the word mentor and current terminology is offered to provide the reader with understanding of the complexity surrounding the concept of mentoring. Mentoring as process is explained, and both formal and informal mentoring processes are discussed and examples provided. The benefits of mentoring are detailed and include the benefits for mentors, mentees, and academic libraries, with a special focus on minorities and generational considerations now prevalent in libraries. Qualitative methodologies are examined to determine relationships, and the methods used include interviews, questionnaires, and print and online surveys. Case studies from across the nation are analyzed and offered as evidence that mentoring does in fact work well in many academic libraries, but librarians should be mindful that these mentoring processes must be evaluated periodically to remain viable. A brief discussion and future considerations section offer helpful information on gaps in the literature and the challenges that academic libraries face as they create and implement mentoring processes in their respective academic organizations.

Pathways to Becoming an Academic Subject Specialist: Insights from Three Librarians

“…Though Howard had some experience teaching, she was not an experienced researcher. Ample research has been done on the benefit of mentoring to academic libraries (Culpepper, 2000;Ross, 2013), and she found this to be useful for integrating into this very different and highly specific model of librarianship. Her mentors have included other tenure-track faculty, her supervisor, full professors, and faculty in other departments on campus.…”

Can a mentoring program save you money?

“…Ross (2013) discusses the impact of purposeful mentoring in his article, "Purposeful mentoring in academic libraries". He talks about the strength of the relationships that can produce the most meaningful results but identifies the importance of structure, as a process or method by which the relationships are formed, to be critical in achieving success.…”

Training to Teach Graduate Information Literacy Sessions Using a Team-based Mentorship Approach: Report on a Pilot Project at the OISE Library

“…An article surveying different types of mentorship commonly discussed in academic library literature (Ross, 2013) lists informal and group mentorship, and pairings of peers, subordinates, and/or superiors. The author describes case studies in which students participated in extended outreach that would normally have been provided by librarians at various service points in academic libraries.…”